Kirksville summer tennis program helps high school program, community

Saturday

Jun 9, 2012 at 12:01 AMJul 25, 2012 at 1:29 PM

Bud Schrader

KIRKSVILLE - The Kirksville girls tennis team has had a long line of success since Steve Smith took over the program. Many members of the team got their start in the sport by taking lessons from Smith. Smith said teaching those girls at a young age has helped the program.

“A lot of those kids started when they were seven years old,” he said. “They attended every session and learned the fundamentals at an early gae.”

The interest in tennis has picked up since Smith began giving summer tennis lessons in Kirksville.

“There were 12 people in the program before I got here,” he said. “Seven years later we had 144 playing and the number has improved to 150. “

Smith has taught tennis for 15 years in the program sponsored by the Kirksville Parks and Recreation Department. Before that, Smith taught tennis for 16 years in Fargo, N.D. He said he is currently giving lessons to 90 people, 75 youths and 15 adults. The youth lessons run Monday through Thursday mornings and the adults play Monday and Wednesday evenings. The lessons run from June 4 to July 26. Smith is assisted by former Kirksville tennis standouts Britni Norfolk and Jon Gooch. Norfolk took lessons for 10 years, Smith said.

Smith said the number of participants in the camp varies.

“Some years you get more and some years you don’t,” he said.

Smith divides the morning group into three categories: Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced. He said the goals of teaching all three groups are different.

“The basic thing about beginners (7-8 years old) is to improve hand-eye coordination,” he said.

The beginning players also use a smaller tennis ball that has less compression.

“The balls don’t bounce as hard, they don’t travel as fast,” Smith said. “You have more time to get to the ball.”

The intermediate classes involve more competition, Smith said.

“We divide those players up into teams,” he said. “We teach them about volleys and long rallies. We want them to improve.”

Daniel Leutsch and Franziska Leugsch are participating in the youth intermediate class. David Leutsch, 12, said he is having fun learning the game.

“Sports are always fun for me,” he said.

Franziska Leutsch, 11, said she is learning skills that will help her become a better player.

“I’m here to have fun,” she said. “I’m learning an awful lot about serving and groundstrokes.”

Smith said the adult sessions are a little more technical. Kimberly O’Reilly, 38, participates in the adult session and said that she was interested in relearning the game.

“I took lessons when I was in junior high,” she said. “I wanted to remember how to play. I’ve learned that you don’t have to hit the ball that hard and I also learned the proper grip. Now i can play with my daughter.”

Smith said he stresses teaching the fundamentals of the game.

“Good footwork is a must as it is in all sports,” he said. “We teach them the proper grip of the racket and get the players to hit it properly.”

Smith said the biggest change in the game since he began giving lessons has been not with the players themselves, but with the equipment.

“You play on bigger surfaces with a lighter racket,” he said. “It makes it easier for the players and made court coverage more important.”